The video above is not meant to glorify high speed crashes, rather remind all of us the importance of safety in vehicle design. Despite the damage shown here, both driver and spotter walked away from this accident with only minor injuries. Unfortunately their rig, The Big Ugly, will likely be out for this Ultra4 season. Having that been said, at least Kevin gets the chance to build another.

Yes, we hated homework on the weekend too. However, there aren’t many times when one of our fellow Ultra4 racers has a chance to win $50,000 and put Ultra4 racing in the motorsports limelight. As it happens Erik Miller, this year’s King of the Hammer’s champion, is now a top five finalist for the “Search for a Champion” contest. The contest ends this weekend, the 25th of March, so let’s all give this one solid push to help Erik take home what would be a well deserved prize. Here’s what we need to do:

1) Head over to http://contest.alwaysachampion.com/contests/showentry/1010384 .

2) Click on the “Vote for Me” link located in the black arrow on the right side of the page. Yes, you have to register (we know, that sucks) but it really only takes a minute.

3) Cast your vote today, but also tomorrow and Sunday. They will take one vote each day using the same login you created above.

That’s it. Erik’s win not only means a lot to him, but to our sport in general. Thanks for helping out, and don’t let this homework assignment kill your weekend.

Fred Williams of Petersen’s 4-Wheel & Off-Road is hanging out at Spidertrax HQ today, showing off his new, yet to be modified, Ultimate Adventure JK. No doubt this is going to be one sweet rig when he’s done with it. Project details are a bit under wraps at the moment, but we’ll be sure to update as the build goes on.

Pretty cool, isn’t it? Hats off to HeavyMetalConcepts for another job well done. For details on the upcoming movie, check out the full press release from Hammerking Productions below.

New King of the Hammers Movie Titled “Rise of the East”Title and Trailer for 2012 Griffin King of The Hammers Movie Released

TWIN PEAKS, CA – March 21, 2012 – Hammerking Productions released the trailer for the 2012 Griffin King of the Hammers movie titled, “Rise of the East” today. The title for this year’s film is a reference to the 2012 King, Erik Miller. Miller is the first winner of the race to reside east of the Mississippi in Cumberland, MD.

The movie will document the week-long off-road racing event held every February in Johnson Valley, CA. 2012 marked the 6th year for the King of the Hammers race which featured more than 200 teams and 30,000 spectators competing in over 5 days of racing. The movie’s release date is expected this summer following a red carpet premiere.

“Rise of the East” is a joint production between the creators of the Griffin King of the Hammers, Hammerking Productions, and media production company, HeavyMetalConcepts. Dave Cole, Executive Director of Hammerking Productions, had this to say about the movie, “We’re happy to have Will Gentile of HeavyMetalConcepts working with us again. He knows how to tell a story and has a strong cinematic eye.” HeavyMetalConcepts first began working with Hammerking Productions in 2011 when they produced the 2011 King of the Hammers movie, “Valley of the Kings.”

Griffin King of the Hammers “Rise of the East” will be available for sale on Hammerking Productions web site, www.ultra4racing.com. The trailer can be viewed at: www.youtube.com/ultra4racing.